


380 Days

by Cinder1124



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Epic, Epic Friendship, Epic Love, F/F, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, M/M, Multi, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 07:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20042554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinder1124/pseuds/Cinder1124
Summary: Clarke is grieving and makes a huge life change in the effort to deal. She begins a new life, only to go through even more loss and grief than she ever could have expected, but also to experience some of the greatest joy, love and friendship.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a huge epic story, spanning years, continents, bloodshed. There will be Finn and Echo and Lexa and I don't hate any of them. I am not writing a story about heroes and villains. I was inspired by the complexity of every character on The 100 to write about those grey areas inherent in loving somebody so much, whilst still making huge mistakes and hurting them terribly. 
> 
> AU, No warnings yet, however, things will heat up and I will change the rating when I get there.
> 
> This is going to be the slowest build and burn story. Settle in.

Counsellors say not to make any extreme changes in your life after a major loss. Don’t sell your house. Don’t quit your job. Don’t end a relationship. Don’t get married. Don’t even cut your hair. They suggest you maintain your current work, hobbies and relationships whilst you navigate through your grief. They say that big decisions and life changes may feel better in the short term, but in the long term they will cause more harm.

I know this because more than one grief counsellor has given me that advice over the past year. I listened, I nodded my head, and I said I understood. 

380 days after it happened, I made the decision to ignore them all.


	2. Too Stubborn

I could barely see over the box as I shuffled my way up the stairs to my dorm room on the second floor. Since it was move in weekend the lift was in high demand, so I had figured I could navigate the stairs. As sweat dripped into my eyes, I cursed my own stubbornness. Also, isn’t it meant to be cold in Canada!

I finally made it to the top of the stairwell, managed to manoeuvre the door handle open with my foot, and stumbled into the hall. I spotted room 206 down the hall and let out a sigh of relief that it was only three doors down. As I made my way towards it, the door to my right swung open. I jumped in surprise and watched in slow motion as the box that I had managed to cart all that way slipped, tipped and began to fall… At which point somebody stepped out of the open doorway, and with lighting quick reflexes, caught all of my worldly belongings.

I didn’t realise that I was holding my breath and squeezing my eyes shut until I heard a low laugh. As I peeked one eye open in amazement, I took in a guy with shoulder length shaggy brown hair, startling brown eyes and a wide grin on his face. I let out my breath in a rush and started babbling, “Oh my god, thank you so much, just about everything I own in the world is in that box, I don’t know what I would have done if I had broken everything. Seriously, you are my knight in shining armour!” 

He stood holding the box like it was full of nothing but feathers, and I took a moment to get my breath. His grin only widened as he took me in. “Well if I’m your knight in shining armour, that must mean that you are the princess in this story.” He placed the box on the ground and extended his hand. “I’m Finn, room 201, pleasure to meet you Princess.” 

I felt myself blush as I took his extended hand. “Hi, I’m Clarke, not a princess, just a clumsy regular pleb. “I blushed even more in horror. Oh my god, did I really just say that. 

“Well Clarke, it’s lovely to meet you.” Finn replied. “But a Princess really shouldn’t be carrying her own luggage. Can I offer you my assistance?”

“Sure,” I replied. “That would be amazing, I think I overestimated my abilities a little. I’m just across in room 206.”

“Oh, so we are neighbours.” Finn picked the box back up and made his way across the hall. I rushed ahead of him and dug around in my bag for the access code I had been given when I arrived. I punched in the code and held the door open. Finn brushed against my arm as he entered and I felt a spark of excitement. He seemed a little cockier than the kind of people I usually liked, but there was something about him that made my heart race. I followed him in, and suddenly was distracted by the view from the window. My dorm at UBC was on the outskirts of campus and had views of beautiful forest with a glimpse of deep blue ocean in the background. The grass was so green and the forest so rich, even in the middle of summer. The colours were so vivid it was like somebody had turned up the saturation levels. I drifted towards the window and marvelled at the beauty. I had flown out of NYC this morning; departing a dirty, smoggy, grey metropolis. Only hours later I was here in my new home that seemed like a different planet, even though I was in the city of Vancouver. I couldn’t wait to paint the vista.

Finn cleared his throat from behind me, and I jumped. I had almost forgotten he was still in the room. “I’m sorry,” I smiled. “I was just taking in the view.”

Finn leered at me, “Yeah, so was I, I reckon it’s pretty breathtaking.”

I immediately scoffed in a most unladylike manner, “Oh my god, I can’t believe you just tried that line!” I started laughing hard. “That’s one of the oldest lines in the book! Does that usually work for you?” 

Finn started to laugh along with me. Thank god he is the kind of guy who can take a joke! “Ok, ok, maybe it was a bit of a line, but you left the opening for me, how could I resist!” 

I was still laughing hard and was clutching at Finn’s arm when I realised that I hadn’t laughed this hard in over a year. I felt my eyes crinkle as I looked up at him. “Thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime Princess. Do you have any more luggage that you need help with?” Finn asked.

“No, that’s OK thanks. I flew here, so I packed pretty light. I just have one suitcase on top of the box, and I think I will use the lift this time. Thanks so much for your help and I guess I will see you around the hallway?” I finished on a hopeful note.

“You bet you will. I will be making sure I run into you around the hallway!”

**Author's Note:**

> I study full time and also work full time, so my writing time is minimal. I am also currently working on multiple stories on here and elsewhere. I am unlikely to update often, but I will try to update regularly. 
> 
> I write fanfic because I am inspired by the complexity of these characters, however, I also write fanfic in an attempt to improve my writing. I know I have issues with tense and flow especially, and I am sure a million other things. As this work is unbeta'd I would really appreciate any feedback people have. I am a tough cookie and can take criticism. Please throw it at me.


End file.
